Foldable smartphones have not yet really hit the market, but they are already being discussed, and experts are talking about the beginning of a new era of mobile technology. The article will talk about several foldable smartphones that are ready or close to completion: Samsung Galaxy Fold, Xiaomi Mi Mix Flex, Huawei Mate X and Royole FlexPai. In the field of mobile technologies, as in any other industry, trends are not complete. Usually the flagship sets the fashion. In 2016, with the introduction of the Galaxy S8, tall screens and thin bezels became mainstream, in 2017 the iPhone X set the fashion for the display cutout. The triple camera implemented in the Huawei P20 Pro in 2018 marked the beginning of a whole race for more and more lenses. 2019 will go down in history as the year of foldable smartphones. Despite the fact that it has only been a couple of months since its inception, many manufacturers have made loud statements about their attempts at bendable technologies. The foldable display is an innovation, experimental form factor. No one can say for sure whether it will become mainstream or die out in a couple of years, giving way to some new solution. However, several foldable smartphones already exist. Most of them are preparing for commercial launch, and some of them can be purchased today. Samsung Galaxy FoldThe most anticipated mobile phone of recent months was Samsung's Galaxy Fold. His first appearance in public took place last fall. Then it was a prototype - rather bulky and thick, with wide frames. It was shown at the November developer conference for only a couple of minutes, but it was enough to spark interest in it all over the world. On February 21, he appeared at the Unpacked event in San Francisco, and then at the MWC in Barcelona, but both times Samsung did not spread much about him. It is known that the official launch and start of sales of Galaxy Fold is scheduled for April 26, and before that the company is going to arrange another event dedicated exclusively to the folding novelty. At its second public appearance, the Galaxy Fold looked different: the thick frames disappeared, the phablet "lost weight", took on a more elegant look. So far, only two things upset about it - the cosmic price (almost $ 2,000) and the fact that it will not be officially brought to USA. Since the Galaxy Fold has a 5G communications module, Samsung has deemed it impractical to ship it to countries where 5G deployment has not yet begun. Xiaomi Mix FlexAt the end of January, a video appeared on the Internet demonstrating what Xiaomi has been doing recently - the development of a branded folding device. It will be called Xiaomi Mix Flex and will differ from the concepts presented by other manufacturers. The Mix Flex will receive a double fold, due to which it can take on an extremely compact size. The length of the diagonal and other specifications remain a mystery. One can only assume that if Xiaomi decided to join the trend, it is confident that it can compete with sharks like Samsung. Mix Flex (or Dual Flex) is just a concept so far. Many note that the MIUI shell is not yet fully adapted to the features of the device. However, Xiaomi promises to bring it to mind soon. Then Mix Flex will surely become a worthy representative in its category. Huawei Mate XHuawei has skyrocketed to the top of the mobile market. In 2018, it managed to surpass Apple in terms of sales. The main rival, Samsung, remained ahead, but the Chinese are confident that they will be able to defeat it too. At the end of last year, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro was released, which received the title of one of the best smartphones in 2018. It has been known for a long time that the company is working on a foldable smartphone. The work was carried out in the strictest confidence, there were no leaks. At the end of 2018, a rumor flashed in the press that the secret development began to be tested by mobile operators in China, and employees of the firms noted that it was close to completion. This development was the Huawei Mate X, presented at the MWC 2019. The start of sales is scheduled for mid-2019. By this time, the smartphone software will be optimized, and the company will determine the supply regions. The price is already known - $ 2600 (more than 170 thousand rubles). The Mate X looks thin and fragile, but Huawei's CEO assures that the folding mechanism has withstood 100,000 flexion / extension cycles. When closed, the smartphone is able to determine which side the owner's face is, and when it is opened again, the desktop will automatically assume the desired orientation. Royole FlexPaiThe end of 2018 was marked by an unexpected event. While Samsung and other OEMs were opening the curtain of secrecy over their foldable designs by millimeters, a hitherto unknown Chinese company took and rolled out a ready-made foldable mobile phone to the market. The Royole FlexPai is a weird, awkward smartphone and tablet combination that looks more like a touchscreen wallet than a communicator. The Chinese clearly expected that all the impatient fans of innovation would line up for him. Sales are already underway, the smartphone is offered in China for $ 1300-1900, but it is unlikely to become a hit. As reviewers from The Verge and other reputable publications note, FlexPai software breaks with bugs, when folding / unfolding, the desktop slows down, the camera works very badly, and artifacts in the form of stripes and turbidity appear on the display every now and then. And yet Royole FlexPai was the first. Let it be unsuccessful, buggy and ugly, but still the first. Over the years, it will become a coveted item for collectors of bendable technology. The Topic of Article: What foldable smartphones already exist?. |